Amanda Schull

Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American director and screenwriter. He was born in Oakland, California, to Joselyn and Ira Coogler. He has two brothers, Keenan and Noah. In his youth, he was interested in athletics and American football. He attended Saint Mary's College of California and Sacramento State University on an American football scholarship. During this time, he developed an interest in screenwriting and took film classes in his free time while majoring in Economics. After graduation, he continued his education at the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. While there, he made short films that were shown at festivals. In 2013, his first feature film, Fruitvale Station, was met with great acclaim at festivals. The film, which recounts the last 24 hours of Oscar Grant's life, who was a victim of police killing, won the Best First Film award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2015, he directed Creed, a sequel to the Rocky series, again starring Michael B. Jordan. In 2018, he worked behind the camera on Black Panther, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Coogler is married to Zinzi Evans.